Why are cold-rolled seamless steel pipes shorter than hot-rolled seamless steel pipes?

Posted by BAOWI STEEL MANUFACTURING CO.,LTD on May 23rd, 2024

In the field of steel pipe manufacturing, cold-rolled seamless steel pipes and hot-rolled seamless steel pipes are two completely different products. They have significant differences in production processes, physical properties, and appearance. Among them, an obvious difference is that the length of cold-rolled seamless steel pipes is usually shorter than that of hot-rolled seamless steel pipes. This characteristic is not accidental, but stems from the characteristics and requirements of two different production processes.
First, we need to understand the basic differences between cold rolling and hot rolling processes. The production process of cold-rolled seamless steel pipes is usually carried out at room temperature, by cold drawing or cold rolling the steel billet to achieve the required size and precision. This process requires high plasticity of the raw materials, and since it is carried out at room temperature, the deformation resistance of the steel billet is relatively large, so breakage or cracking is prone to occur during the processing. In order to ensure the quality and integrity of the steel pipe, the length of cold-rolled seamless steel pipe is usually limited to avoid excessive breakage or damage during processing.
In contrast, the production process of hot-rolled seamless steel pipes requires high temperature conditions. By heating the steel billet to a certain temperature to make it sufficiently plastic, it is then processed into a seamless steel pipe through a rolling process. Since steel has better plasticity and smaller deformation resistance under high temperature conditions, the length of hot-rolled seamless steel pipes can be relatively long. In addition, the hot rolling process can also achieve precise control of the size and performance of steel pipes by adjusting rolling parameters and temperature control.
In addition to the influence of the production process, there are also certain differences in the uses of cold-rolled seamless steel pipes and hot-rolled seamless steel pipes. Because cold-rolled seamless steel pipes have high dimensional accuracy and surface finish, they are usually used in fields that require high steel pipe size and surface quality, such as machinery manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, aerospace, and construction engineering. Hot-rolled seamless steel pipes are widely used in petroleum, natural gas, chemical industry, shipbuilding, aviation and other fields because of their good plasticity and toughness and relatively low cost.
Different application fields also have different requirements when it comes to the selection of steel pipe length. For some occasions that require long-distance transportation or installation, such as oil and gas pipelines, water supply and gas supply systems, the longer length of hot-rolled seamless steel pipes can reduce the number of joints and improve the integrity and reliability of the pipelines. For some occasions that require high dimensional accuracy and surface quality, such as mechanical parts and automotive parts, the shorter length of cold-rolled seamless steel pipes is more conducive to ensuring processing accuracy and surface quality.
In addition, the selection of steel pipe length also needs to take into account the convenience of transportation and storage. Due to its long length, hot-rolled seamless steel pipes require a large space during transportation and storage, and are easily affected by the external environment and cause deformation or damage. Due to its shorter length, cold-rolled seamless steel pipes are easier to package and stack, which helps reduce loss and waste during transportation and storage.
To sum up, cold-rolled seamless steel pipes are shorter than hot-rolled seamless steel pipes. This characteristic is the result of a combination of factors such as its production process, physical properties, and application requirements. In practical applications, we need to select the appropriate steel pipe type and length according to specific needs and occasions to ensure the quality and efficiency of the project.

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